


Make It Stop

by deird1



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen, Grief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 11:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deird1/pseuds/deird1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what's left.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make It Stop

**Make It Stop**

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Yes I do, she almost says. Because Mom always wanted me to do it. She used to put the washing basket in front of the TV and tell me that I couldn’t watch _Spy Sistas_ until I’d ironed at least five things. And I’d hold out as long as possible and pretend I didn’t care about television. So I’m going to, because Mom asked me to.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Yes I do, she almost says. Because there’s still ironing, and washing, and checking for stains, and accidentally burning fingers. There’s still normal stuff here, somehow.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Yes I do, she almost says. Because if I let you do it, then you’d really live here and it’d all be different for real.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

No, she almost says, but at least this is something I can handle.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Fine then, she almost says. _You_ do the ironing, since you’re so interested in it.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

There’s no way I’m stopping, she almost says. If I stop, the Buffybot will try doing it again – and I’m not going to let her stand there with my sister’s face, doing something my sister hated worse than I did. She’s already dead, she shouldn’t have to iron as well.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

I will if I want to, she almost says. I can do anything I want, now. There’s no-one left to stop me. And I’m going to iron, so you can suck it.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

It’s _not_ all of it, she almost says. I’ve got a whole wardrobe left upstairs.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Yeah, I really do, she almost says. Because Mom said that suffrage was no reason not to be skilled at chores, and if I don’t iron ever again, I’ll be letting her down.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

If you want me to stop, she almost says, why don’t you program the stupid robot to bribe me with ironing money? That’d be more realistic.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Yes I do, she almost says. Because I’m all that’s left. If I don’t do it, it won’t get done. Not Mom, not Buffy, not Dad. I’m the head of the family now, and heads of the family do the ironing even if they don’t want to.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Yeah, I really do, she almost says. Because if I pretend hard enough, it’s almost like the world didn’t end.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Stop trying to coddle me, she almost says. So I got kidnapped and blood-sacrificed and my sister died in front of me – so what? I’m not a _baby_.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Go away and leave me the fuck alone, she almost says. And yeah, I’ll swear if I want to! You can’t stop me! You’re not my mother.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

Actually I _do_ , she almost says, because I used my horrible not-really-real trauma as an excuse to get out of ironing – so I’m like a thousand hours in debt, and if you’ll excuse me I’d really like to get on with that, thanks.

_“Dawn, why don’t you sit down for a while? You don’t have to do_ all _the ironing.”_

She almost says lots of things. But instead she keeps her mouth shut – and stands there pressing seams.


End file.
